Now Playing XLI

*****

The Russia House - Jerry Goldsmith

Brilliant!

Doesn't everything?

Sam Mendes is going to direct the new James Bond movie, so there's a chance.

And not forgetting one hell of an awesome recording.

Arnhem = my number one emotional cue

The Rowhouses = my number one ballsy action cue

Sturmgeist's Armored Train = my number one choral cue

But it's all fantastic really, it remains my favourite of Michael. When this was released I was convinced of the fact he was destined to become the next John Williams. He really should return to this style of composing ASAP. But not too many films will let him do this, I fear.

Found a suite:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVP9aBySGPU

Thanks for pointing me to it. Didn't like all it -- something rubbed me the wrong way.

I still want my fucking $8.50 back from seeing that aweful Trek film.

It's an outstanding score !

NP : CAMILLE CLAUDEL - Gabriel Yared



One of the composers very best scores, stunning!

The Pixar movies he scored for one. Also Angels In America, The Green Mile, and Red Corner.

Yes, great things have happened when composers step out of their comfort zone.

Finally decided, after not being able to sleep, to pop in the promo CD's Yared send me out of the blue back when I interviewed him. Three CD's, so I got some timed filled with discovery.

First up is the promo discovery (YAD-004)

First three cues are from a ballet called "Le Diable Amoureux". If you ever wanted to know what those whacky cues from "Pee Wee's Playhouse" would sound like if done more professionally, well here you go. Not my thing.

The next tracks are from various films (years range from 1980 to 1995):

"Malevil" (Preluyde a la Pluie)
An odd small ensamble piece with piano, woodwinds, what sound like glass textures, and bird chirping. Almost like a oddball lounge piece with hectic moments. As weird as it sounds, far more accessable than the first three tracks above.

Commercial music for Eurostar
More akin to something Danny Elfman might have done in the early '90's. If he was French. Quite enjoyable.

"Inviation Au Voyage" (Main Title)
Hard to describe. I could possibly say it's like Jerry, but French, are some early career sexual thriller. A lot of soft synths, weird percussion.

[b]"Tatie Danielle" (Tatie's Blues)
The French equivilant of blues; sax's, some woodwinds, accordians, keyboard percussion, some kind of wailing faux male/female voice in the middle onward. It started out enjoyable, but went into this weird unplesant experimental route.

The last cue brings us back to the small ensable experimental sound that the CD opened up with, but mroe mature, and oddly enough titled "Goodbye Now...".

"La Scalatine" (Main Title)
Sort of a slow-paced swing piece with sax's, woodwinds, accordians.

"La Scalatine" (Jacques & Nicole)
A tender piano and duo violin piece (some other instruments) in a rmoantic style.

"Sauve Qui Peut la Vie" (Du Lilieu A L'au-Dela)
A small synth piece with repeating ostinatos and oddball experiemtning over. While experimenting is appreciated, I'd rather he do 50 more films where the lead dies, than this again.



Back to another film selection, this time another ballet called "Shamrock"
A Short Tale: Kalimba, boy chorus, various foreign percussion, which suddenly is over taken by a dramatic driving string work, before diving back into the soft errie stuff.
Human Clock: Experimenting in synth percussions, and even what sounds like some kind of chanting African voice. A repeating rythem builds on it all. Almost catchy.
Strange Voices: What it sounds like. Various synth voices and percussion. For 3:14.
Sidetrack: More synth sounds, this time car horns, something what sounds like a copier or fax printing something out, some sax's; oddball stuff.
Shamrock: More experimentation.


Another chunk of various film pieces:
"Sarhah" (L'azur de Sarah)
A somber piece with strings and piano.

Commercial music for GDF; 2:03
Farily big sounding string orchestra, woodwinds, solo female vocals. You'd more expect this as the opening to "What Dreams May Come" than a commercial. Very nice stuff.

"La Romana" (Nostalgia)
Sort of that high pitched romantic saxophone stuff you'd hear in the eighties, with film noir like string backing.

"La Romana" (Due Donne)
String only piece.

"Hanna K" (Hanna K)
Moody string work (with something else in there -- having a hard time identifying it; also a foreign guitar breifly around the end). Imagine Yared's answer to a French "Carlito's Way".

"L'Instinct de L'Ange" (Aria)
Strings & woodwinds. Just sort of "there" for me. Does nothing more.

"Beyond Therapy" (Fugue)
Sounds like duo pianos, playing in a moderately fast tempo. Don't like it at all.

"Les Marmottes" (Pleure Pas Lola)
After some piano noodling, it goes into a faux "Somewhere, Beyond the Sea" jazzy number.



"Clavigo" (another ballet)
Seven tracks from dramatic string work, wood winds flurishes, brass, snare. Some upbeat xylaphone with bouncy strings.
The cue "Jeu de Cartes" could be a light precursor incidcating what "Les Miserables" could have sounded like; it's got dramatic repeating string ostinatos, with building damatic brass over it and some light percussion about. It's driving.

I still want the CD release of CAMILLE CLAUDEL ( at a reasonable price ), it was you Michael, who sent me a CDR copy of this some years ago and that's the one I was playing.

There's a copy on Amazon for $54.....that's just silly.

p.s. I'd have loved to be at that Yared concert.